“Tease out the last percentage points”

Head coach Dino Toppmöller on …

… how things stand: “We want to give it everything we’ve got one more time in front of our own fans so that we can keep all three points and give our supporters a nice Christmas present. The only way we can do that on Saturday is by playing with intensity, which is something we can expect from our opponents and something they’ll compel us to play with to a certain extent. We’ll have to play with absolute intensity, bite and focus right from the off to make the game go our way. We’re determined to end the year on a positive note. We’ve had a very good first half of the season so far; we want to turn it into an outstanding one now. It’s our last game before a short winter break so we want to tease out the last percentage points.”

… personnel: “Tuta is out, he's completing his rehab. We hope he'll return at the start of January. We won't take any risks and have enough players in that position who are raring to go.”

… upcoming opponents 1. FSV Mainz 05: “They’re a well-drilled team with good and clear movement patterns. It’ll be very intensive – that’s what characterises them as a team. They’re very good at forcing their opponents to contest lots of duels. They’re proactive, play a lot of one-twos and are focused on second balls, which they’re very hungry to win. They put a lot of crosses into the box. It’ll be a nice challenge to play against them.”

… Hugo Ekitiké: “He’s played twice as many minutes in the second half of 2024 as he did in the first half of the year. He’s taken a big step forward in terms of how much strain he can handle physically. He’ll give it everything again tomorrow.”